I Got Your Back
by Ellie Marsy
Summary: Emmett cheers Jasper up when he is feeling down. One-shot. Emmett's POV.


Author's Note: I was working on a longer fic and thought that a brotherly moment would be nice. Enjoy! Emmet's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!

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It was a depressing day. Everyone in the house seemed so blue. Rosalie turned away when I tried to kiss her and went up to our room. Jacob sat by himself and brooded out the window. Renesmee was not so much drawing as she was drawing infinite circular patterns in the paper, which she only did when something bothered her. Even I found myself feeling oddly glum as I tried to focus on the commercials on the TV.

Alice came into the living room with a look of pure exasperation. She sat on the floor by the loveseat and leaned her head against it. Suddenly I understood why my family had gone from wanting to enjoy the day to brooding in the house.

Jasper. I sighed. Sometimes it sucks having an empath for a brother.

As if she had heard me, Alice turned her head in my direction. She sent me a pleading look and pouted slightly for dramatic effect. No matter what the situation, you can never resist when Alice pouts. I wasn't the one in the family to go to when something serious happened. I had the most physical strength, but I knew that I would never make a good leader. That was Carlisle's role, or maybe even Jasper's. So, I settled for a more minor role in the family. I was the one who cheered people up. It may sound pathetic, but I took my job very seriously, and judging by the atmosphere in the house, Jasper desperately needed my services.

I had checked in Alice's room and found it empty. He wasn't in his study, either. I sighed. When Jasper wasn't in either of the rooms, he could only be in one place- his own room. He only entered his room by himself when he wanted to read or was in major sulk mode. I hesitantly knocked on the door, though I could already tell he was in the room.

I opened the door slightly. Jasper hardly used his own room. His closet was empty, as all his clothes were in Alice's closet. There was a desk in the corner which would occasionally be scattered with borrowed books from Carlisle's library, and his bed by the wall. Esme's motherly instincts had taken over and she insisted that all of us should have beds in our rooms, even though none of us had use for a bed. Well, not alone, at least.

Jasper was at the corner of the room with his knees drawn to his chest. He stared at the floor and didn't even look up when I came in.

I closed the door and began to walk toward him. His eyes were dark. Whatever was making him miserable was preventing him from hunting. Not good.

"Hey, Jazzy!", I beamed at him in an overly happy tone that Rosalie hated.

He glanced up at me for a second before turning his gaze back to the floor.

Well, at least I said hello.

I sat down next to him and copied his position, drawing my knees close to my body.

"Bro, you're kind of bumming everybody out."

Jasper said nothing but shifted uncomfortably.

"Did somebody make fun of you in school?", I asked. I tried to make the teasing obvious in my voice, so that he would get a hint and lighten up a bit.

I regretted saying it the moment he glared at me. Sometimes Jasper did come off as truly frightening, even for a vampire.

"Alright, seriously, what happened?"

"Something did happen at school."

Aha! We're getting somewhere.

"What happened?"

"This girl was sitting next to me in class. Something must have happened. She dropped her scissors and cut her arm open. She asked me for help and all I did was...", he closed his eyes tightly. "I pushed her away from me. She fell to the ground and I ran away."

Jasper resumed staring at the floor. His eyes were pained.

"It's because of me that we're going to have to move again, isn't it?"

"Why would we move?"

"I pushed her down to the ground in front of the whole class and haven't been back to school since then. That happened two days ago."

"Jasper, you didn't do anything. She wasn't hurt. Well... by you." He winced slightly. "We'll make an excuse. You have some sort of blood phobia. We can say that you were nauseous and needed to get home right away... Or maybe you had a kind of trauma when you were young. Maybe the blood brought back bad memories and it makes you scared."

"And kill innocent people and drain their blood.", he finished. "I'm just... so tired of being the weak link in the family."

I didn't really know how to respond to that. Jasper was the only one who thought of himself as a weak link. In truth, he was one of the strong chains holding the family together.

Jasper buried his face in his knees. I would have to take drastic measures.

"Jasper?... If April showers bring May flowers, then what do Mayflowers bring?"

He looked up at me with a furrow in his brow.

"Emmett, what the hell are you-"

"Pilgrims."

Jasper turned away from me and looked out the window, though I could swear I saw a hint of a smile. He was the last in the family to turn down a good history joke.

"What's the best way to get a head in life?"

"I'm not in the moo-"

"Decapitation."

He bit his lip and clenched his fists.

"What has four legs and flies?"

"Em, I'm warning-"

"A dead horse."

Jasper turned his head slowly toward me. For a while I thought he was going to attack me. When he spoke, his voice was solemn.

"Why are clouds like people riding horses?"

I bit back a laugh. We answered at the same time.

"Because they hold the rains!"

I laughed and was glad when Jasper joined me.

"What instrument draws teeth painlessly?"

"Don't got a clue, Jazz."

"A pencil."

I punched him on the shoulder and he laughed. I laughed as well and felt the mood of the house start to lighten.

"What do polar bears sing on birthdays?... 'Freeze a Jolly Good Fellow."

"Oh Emmett, that one's just plain weak", though he still laughed.

Though Jasper is hard to be with when he was in his sulking moods, it was hard not to enjoy when he was in these light and casual moods.

"Don't worry about it, Jazz. We'll take care of it. You'll be back to school first thing tomorrow morning. And by the way, you aren't a weak link."

His expression grew serious again, though I could tell that I hadn't lost him in depression again. "Yeah... thanks, Emmett. Sorry for making everyone miserable."

"Hey, I got your back." I playfully punched him on the shoulder and he did the same to me.

I stood up and made my way to the door. I was already outside when I stuck my head back into the room.

"Where can you find the meaning of life?"

"I'm gonna throw my shoe at you."

"In a dictionary."

I managed to close the door before a shoe nearly buried itself into my forehead.


End file.
